The land around Bracken Bat Cave and the proposed subdivision, which will now not be developed.

Bat Conservation International

Listen

Listening...

/

1:26

A tentative buyer has declined to purchase the property -- known as Crescent Hills -- adjacent to the Bracken Bat Cave and now a coalition of potential buyers is hoping to acquire the land to preserve it.

The coalition is a loosely-knit group of people and organizations who want to see the land surrounding the bat cave permanently preserved instead of being open for development of houses and commercial activity.

One of the interested parties is San Antonio District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg.

"This is very important land," he said. "It’s part of the Texas Hill Country that is entirely over the recharge zone and it also features the largest bat colony on the planet. It has dramatic impact on our eco-system, in terms of agriculture, in terms of nature. Just about every possible way that conservation and preservation makes sense in Texas, we can see on this particular property."

Galo Properties, which owns the land, had planned to develop a dense housing project on the property. Critics said the development would have dynamic detrimental effects on the bats, which could have a domino effect on pest control and agriculture

Nirenberg said health officials were concerned that the bats could spread rabies by interacting with people and animals who would move into the development.

"Ultimately, what’s the right thing to do with this habitat? I think there’s pretty broad agreement that it is not to develop in that area," Nirenberg said.

Nirenberg said the broad-based coalition must continue to raise awareness of the property’s environmental importance and ultimately raise funding to buy the property in order to protect it.

The bats that fly out from under the Congress Avenue bridge in Austin are a popular visitor attraction, but San Antonio now has its own bat population large enough to show off along the San Antonio Riverwalk.

The Paseo del Rio Association, the San Antonio River Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife and Bat Conservation International are hosting Bat Loco, an informative series of bat walks, now through mid-August to raise awareness of the importance of bats in our ecosystem.